Purpose
To provide guidance for students who wish to have their family members participate in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine White Coat or Commencement ceremonies.
Office or person responsible for implementing
Medical Student Services and the Office of Student Life
Applies to
All students participating in the School of Medicine White Coat and Commencement ceremonies
Rationale
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The UAB Heersink School of Medicine White Coat and Commencement Ceremonies are a rich time of celebration for medical students and their families.
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These ceremonies serve different purposes in a student’s professional identity formation and achievement of milestones toward becoming a physician.
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There is no standard family members participation in White Coat or Commencement ceremonies among U.S. medical schools.
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Any rules we make about family participation is likely to feel inclusive to some students and exclusionary to others.
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For some, having family members participate in either ceremony reinforces the perception of elitism in medicine, or has the potential to make first-generation students feel less-than.
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We are open to feedback as students’ attitudes and the national conversation changes on this issue, and at the same time need to have some stability in our process for planning and expectation-setting.
Details
White Coat Ceremony
The White Coat Ceremony represents a welcoming of students into the education and training phase of becoming a physician as well as an acknowledgement of the individuality and self each student brings to the practice of medicine.
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To show our unity as one medical school, on four campuses, our tradition is to have the regional campus deans (or their designees) cloak students during the White Coat Ceremony.
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Students can request to be cloaked by a family member at the White Coat Ceremony, if the family member is a clinical physician (MD or DO). Only one family member may participate in the ceremony, so if a student has more than one family member who is a clinical physician, they must choose who will cloak them or opt to be cloaked by one of the regional deans.
Commencement Ceremony
The Commencement Ceremony represents the completion of medical training and the formal entrance of students into the medical profession. In a very real sense, it is an acknowledgement of the efforts of our students and the work of education and training by the school of medicine. Students are graduated by the school, as it expresses its confidence in them as physicians.
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Students will be hooded by The Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education (or designee), the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education (or designee).
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No other individuals will be permitted to hood students during this ceremony.
Additional Information
N/A
Created: May 2019
Implemented: May 2019
Reviewed and updated: February 2026